Wheeled sounding toy



Oct. 12, 1965 M. I. GLASS ETAL 3,210,886

WHEELED SOUNDING TOY Filed Aug. 21, 1963 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 12, 1965 M. l. GLASS ETAL 3,210,886

WHEELED SOUNDING TOY Filed Aug. 21, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Mm x fMa. M

XTM @5 Oct. 12, 1965 M. 1. GLASS ETAL 3,210,886

WHEELED SOUNDING TOY Filed Aug. 21, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 3,210,886 WHEELED SOUNDING TOY Marvin I. Glass and Burton C. Meyer, Chicago, 111., as-

signors to Marvin Glass & Associates, Chicago, Ill., a partnership Filed Aug. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 303,492 Claims. (Cl. 46- -232) This invention relates to a toy and, more particularly, to a self-propelled marching toy.

Various types of self-propelled figures have been known in the toy trade for many years. While some of these figures perform interesting maneuvers, their actions are limited and they are generally not maneuvered very realistically. The lack of realism as well as the lack of participation by the child in the actions of such walking or otherwise articulate figures soon causes the child to lose interest in the toy.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a new and amusing toy. Another object is provision of a new and amusing self-propelled articulated toy. A related object is provision of such a toy in the form of one or more marching figures. Still another object is provision of a new and amusing toy in the form of a group of self-propelled marching figures.

A further object is provision of a new and amusing marching toy wherein a noisemaker provides different sounds depending on the action of the toy.

A still further object is provision of a new and useful noisemaker.

A more specific object is provision of a new and amusing toy in the form of a row of self-propelled marching soldiers which may be controlled by a child to perform typical marching maneuvers. A related object is provision of such a toy wherein one of the soldiers beats a drum while the unit is marching.

These and other objects of the invention are more particularly set forth in the following description and in the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention in the form of a row of marching soldiers;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged front view of the row of soldiers, with parts broken away and in section for clearer illustration;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged left side view of a central one of the soldiers and a drum, with parts broken away and in section for clearer illustration;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary enlarged section view taken generally along the line 44 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of a portion of a noisemaker assembly;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary enlarged side view illustrating a control switch shown in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the mechanism shown in FIGURES 24.

The invention is, in brief, directed to a toy in the form of a drill team including a row of self-propelled soldiers which march in unison and execute various marching maneuvers under the control of a child operating the toy. In the preferred embodiment one of the soldiers beats a drum as the unit marches, and a noisemaker is provided for providing different drum sounds varying with different marching maneuvers.

Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the form of a military drill team including a row of five soldiers 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. Each soldier has a right leg 20 and a left leg 22. The legs swing back and forth in a marching manner for propelling the unit. The outer soldiers 11, 12, 14 and 15 each carry a rifle 24 on their right shoulders and the "ice center soldier 13 has his right arm in position as for steadying a base drum 26 mounted on a suitable wheeled carriage 28. The right arms 30 of each of the soldiers swing together in unison with the legs, and the left arm of the center soldier 13 carries a drum stick 31 to simulate beating the drum as the unit marches. A child playing with the toy may command the drill team to march forwardly or rearwardly, to turn right or left, or to halt, all by use of a saber 32 to operate a control switch 34 (FIGURE 6) on the right side of the drum 26, and to move a banner carrying rod 36 extending rearwardly above the drum.

With particular reference to FIGURE 2, each of the five soldiers 11-15 has a bogly portion 38, including a head and torso, rigidly joined to adjacent soldiers at the shoulders by shoulder plates 40 which form part of the uniform, and at the hips by relatively inconspicuous tubes 42, thereby providing a rigid unit. The soldiers may be dressed in any desired type of uniform, and if desired, may be in other than military dress.

With particular reference to FIGURE -2, each of the 20 and the left leg 22 of each soldier are mounted on the respective body 38 to swing back and forth in a marching manner for propelling the unit. More par-- ticularly, a stem 50 extends upwardly from the upper end of each leg-and through a slot 52 in a generally horizontal reinforcing plate 54 at about waist level in the respective body. The front and rear vertical surfaces of each slot 52 serve as a fulcrum about which the respective leg pivots as it swings back and forth. A rotating crank 56 (FIGURES 2-4 and 7) extend through the bodies '38 and the connecting tubes 42 and is journaled at its opposite ends in the bodies 38 of the soldiers 11 and '15, as may best be seen in FIGURE 2. At its center, the crank carries a crank driving gear 58 having bosses 59 suitably journaled within the body 38 of the drummer or center soldier 13. As will be more fully described hereinafter, the driving gear 58 is drivingly meshed with a drive gear 60 of drive means 62 within the drum 26, and the drive means is operated by the control switch 34. Within each body 38, pairs of opposed throws 64 and 66 of the crank are journaled in upper portions of the legs 20 and 22, respectively, of each s'oldier for alternately swinging the respective legs back and fourth and upon forward movement of the soldiers to elevate the forwardly swinging leg and to lower the rearwardly swinging leg into engagement with a supporting surface, as 68 to move the unit forwardly. All crank throws are radially spaced 180 from adjacent thr-o'ws. As the legs are elevated and lowered, the stems 5t) slide up and down through the respective slots 52.

The left arm 30 of each soldier is pivoted to the respective body 38 by means of a horizontal shaft 70 journaled in the left shoulder portion of the respective body. The shaft 70 is part of a crank 72 having a lever 74 depending from the horizontal shaft 70. As may best be seen in FIGURE 2, the crank free end 74 is positioned to be engaged by the stem 50 of the left leg 22 of the respective soldier as the left leg swings rearwardly, thus swinging the left arm 30 forwardly. As each left leg swing's forwardly, its stem 50 swings rearwardly and the respective left arm 30 drops by gravity to the side of the soldier and in position to be again engaged by the stem 50 and thereby swung forwardly. If desired, the crank free end 74 may alternatively be positioned to be engaged by the stem 50 of the respective right leg 20.

T he drive means 62 includes a reversible electric motor (FIGURES 3 and 4) adapted to be connected in circuit through the control switch 34 with suitable batteries 82 received in a battery housing 84 within the drum 26. A cover 86 is provided by an upper portion of a cylindrical peripheral wall of the drum and is herein connected by a hinge 88 with the remainder of the cylindrical drum wall. A suitable latch 88a is pivoted on the drum peripheral wall to be swung into position for holding the battery cover 86 closed. The control switch 34 includes a contact 90 which is secured, as by a rivet, to the battery cover 86 and engages an end of the upper battery. This contact is connected through a bar 92 with a contact point 94 mounted in the left side of the drum A second contact point 96 is also mounted in the left side of the drum and is connected by a bar 98 with a lower end of the other battery 82. An upper contact point 100 and a lower contact point 102 are also mounted in the left side of the drum and are each connected through suitable lead wires with the reversible electric motor 80. The switch 34 further includes a switch plate 104 pivotally secured as by means of a boss 106 at its center to the left side of the drum 26. The switch plate 104 carries a pair of elongated contacts including an upper arcuate contact 108 electrically insulated from a lower arcuate contact 110. Adjacent ends of the contacts 108 and 110 are spaced from each other and these contacts are positioned for engaging the contact points 94, 96, 100 and 102, as will be more fully described hereinafter. An actuating arm 112 extends upwardly from the plate 104 and past the cylindrical side wall of the drum for rotating the switch plate. In normal off position of the switch the actuating arm 112 is positioned vertically so that the gaps between adjacent ends of the arcuate contacts 108 and 110 receive the battery contact points 94 and 96. When it is desired to drive the motor in a forward direction the actuating arm 112 is pivoted forwardly to connect the battery contact 94 with the motor contact 100 and the other battery contact 96 with the other motor contact 102, as illustrated in FIG- URE 6. When it is desired to operate the motor 80 in a reverse direction, the actuating arm 112 is moved rearwardly from its neutral or off position to the position indicated by dotted lines in FIGURE 6, with the battery contact 94 connected with the motor contact 102 and the other battery contact 96 connected with the other motor contact 100.

The motor 80 has a drive shaft carrying a drive pinion which forms part of the gear train for rotating the crank gear 58. More particularly, the drive pinion 120 is drivingly meshed with a large gear 122 fixed on a shaft 124 journaled in opposite side walls of a housing 126 which forms part of the body 38 of the drummer soldier 13. The shaft 124 fixedly carries an intermediate pinion 128 drivingly coupled with the crank gear 58 through the drive gear 60 which is fixedly mounted on a shaft 130 also journaled in the housing 126. Thus, upon moving the actuating arm 112 forwardly, the motor 80 is driven in a forward direction and through the gear train rotates the crank gear 58 counterclockwise (FIGURE 3) to raise and lower the legs 20 and 22 while swinging them forward and rearwardly, respectively, so that the row of soldiers 11-15 moves in a forward direction. Upon moving the switch actuating arm 112 rearwardly from its neutral position, the rotation of the motor 80 is reversed so that the crank gear 58 is driven in a clockwise direction (FIGURE 3) thus causing the row of soldiers 1115 to march rearwardly.

With reference to FIGURE 3, the wheeled carriage 28 which carries the base drum 26 is in the form of a supporting wheel mounted on a horizontal axle shaft 142 of a carrier 144 having a stem 146 suitably journaled at upper and lower portions in the cylindrical wall of the drum 26 and in an intermediate drum brace 148. Downward movement of the stem 146 through the drum 126 is prevented by outwardly distended portions 150 of the stern 146 which may seat against a washer 152 received on the top surface of the intermediate drum brace 148. At its lower end the stem 146 has a laterally or vertically offset portion 154 (FIGURE 1) from which the carrier is inclined downwardly and rearwardly to the axle shaft 142.

The off-set 154 is received in a wide and shallow inverted V-shaped notch 156 (FIGURE 3) in a cylindrical boss extending downwardly from the cylindrical wall of the drum, for releasably holding the wheel 140 in position for forward or rearward movement of the row of soldiers 11- 15, thereby providing selectively operable means for controlling the toy. The stem 146 forms a staff for the banner rod 36 which extends rearwardly from the generally upright portion of the stein 146. I

With reference to FIGURE 1, with the row of soldiers marching either forwardly or rearwardly, a child may take a suitable rod, such as a toy saber 32, and engage the banner rod 36 to swing the wheel 140 either to the right or left thereby causing the row of soldiers 1115 to execute either a column right or column left maneuver. I Upon releasing the rod 36, movement of the unit causes the supporting wheel 140 to return to its Straight ahead position with the off-set 154 of the carrier received in the notch 156 as shown in FIGURE 3. I

The noisemaker means, which provides a different sound responsive to forward or rearward movement of the row of soldiers 11-15, herein provides a variable or rhythmic drum beat upon generally forward movement of the row of soldiers and a regular drum beat upon rearward movement of the row of soldiers. With reference to FIGURES 3-5, the noisemaker means is here in the form of an elongated resilient reed fixedly secured at one end, as by rivets 172, to the inner surface of the left side 174 of the drum which serves as a sounding board. The reed extends rearwardly from the rivets 172 and has a rear end 176 angled inwardly and rearwardly from the drum side Wall 174 so that the inner end is resiliently urged against serrations 178 on an outer face of a disc 180 (FIGURE 5) telescoped for axial movement and freely rotatable on a shaft 182 journaled at opposite ends in the side walls of the housing 126. The serations 178 are generally radially disposed with respect to the shaft 182 and are circumferentially arranged in alternate groups of closely spaced shallow serrations 184 and widely spaced deep serrations 186. Thus, upon rotating the disc 180 the reed end 176 rides across the differently shaped serations 184 and 186 to vary the vibration of the reed 170 and thus to provide a rhythmic sound from the sounding board 174.

Means for rotating the disc 180 upon forward movement of the row of soldiers 11-15, is herein provided by a ratchet type coupling between the disc 180 and a disc driving gear 190 fixedly mounted on the shaft 182 and drivingly meshed with an elongated pinion 192 (FIGURE 4) fixedly mounted on the shaft 130. As the row of soldiers is marching in a generally forwardly direction the elongated pinion 192 rotates clockwise to drive the disc driving gear 190 counterclockwise (FIGURE 3) whereupon a ratchet pawl in the form of a pin 194, integral with and extending axially outwardly from an outer face of the gear 190, is seated against axially extending shoulder portions of circumferentially disposed equally spaced ratchet teeth 196 on an inner face of the disc 180, thereby driving the disc 180 counterclockwise and causing the reed 170 to vibrate as its end 176 rides across the serrations 178. Upon rearward movement of the row of soldiers 11-15, the disc driving gear 190 is rotated in a clockwise direction so that the pin 194 rides across inclined portions of the ratchet teeth 196 thereby moving the ratchet disc longitudinally along the shaft 182 and against the resilient force of a spiral compression spring 198 which urges the disc 180 inwardly or to the right as viewed in FIGURE 5 and into engagement with the pin 194. An axial snap action is thereby imparted to the disc. The disc 180 is effectively held against rotation by the reed end 176 being seated in any one of the serrations 178 so that the snap action caused by the pin 194 riding across the ratchet teeth 196 causes the reed 170 to vibrate whereupon a regular drum beat is provided by the sounding board 174.

To summarize the operation of the toy, selectively operable means is provided wherein a child may use the saber 162 to move the upwardly extending arm 112 of the switch 34 either forwardly or rearwardly from its normal off position and for example, upon moving the arm 112 forwardly to the position shown by solid lines in FIGURE 6, the drill team marches forwardly to the accompaniment of a rhythmic beat provided by the noisemaker means within the drum 26. In order to cause the drill team to execute either column right or column lef marching maneuvers, the child uses the saber 162 to engage the banner rod 36 for swinging the supporting wheel 140 of the drum to either the right or the left. Upon removing the saber 162 from the banner rod 36 the wheel 140 swings back to its straight position with the off-set 154 of the carrier seated in the base of the notch 156. To cause the drill team to halt, the child merely uses the saber to move the switch arm 112 to its vertical normal off position. By moving the switch arm 112 to its rear position, as shown by dotted lines in FIGURE 6, the row of soldiers 1115 marches to the rear to the accompaniment of a regular drum heat from the noisemaker means within the drum. As the unit marches, the drummer 13 appears to be beating the drum 26. While the unit is marching either forwardly or rearwardly, the arms 30 of the soldiers swing back and forth in unison.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to certain structure, material and functions in a particular environment, various changes may be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the invention is, therefore, not to be limited to such structure, material, functions or environment. Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy drill team comprising, a group of figures, selectively operable power means to move said group forwardly and rearwardly and noisemaker means operative when said group is moving forwardly to provide a variable beat and when said group is moving rearwardly to provide a steady beat, said noisemaker means including a movable part for producing different sounds, means for selctively moving said part to produce the different sounds and including, a member having a series of serrations of different configuration for actuating said part, means mounting said member for movement of said serrations across said part to produce a first sound and for movement of said member in opposite directions toward and away from said part to produce a second sound, and means for selectively moving said member to move said serrations across said part, and toward and away from said part.

2. A toy drill team comprising, a group of toy soldiers rigidly aligned side by side to form a row, said soldiers having arms and each soldier having legs for supporting the row of soldiers on a supporting surface, a carrier in front of and at the center of said row of soldiers, said carrier having a swingably mounted supporting wheel, a drum mounted on said carrier, manually operable selfpropelling means to direct said row of soldiers in marching maneuvers and when operative to march said row of soldiers in a straight line selectively forwardly and rearwardly across said surface and including means for moving a plurality of said arms in unison with each other and for moving at least one of said arms in manner of beating said drum and for moving said leg means in step with each other, second manually operable means including said swingably mounted wheel to direct said row of soldiers in other marching maneuvers including column movements, and noisemaker means including said drum operative when said row of soldiers is marching in a generally forwardly direction to provide a variable drum beat and when said row of soldiers is marching rearwardly to provide a steady drum beat.

3. A toy comprising a group of soldier figures aligned side by side to form a row, said soldiers each having relatively movable arms and also having relatively movable legs for supporting the row of soldiers on a supporting surface, a drum secured to one of said soldiers in forwardly extending relation thereto, a swingably mounted supporting wheel fixed to said drum in position for engagement with the supporting surface, leg moving means interconnecting said movable legs for effecting relative movement thereof in a marching manner, power operated means within said drum connected with said leg moving means for operation of the latter, a soundmaker Within said drum including a vibratable member connected with said power operated means for operation thereby, means for swinging said supporting wheel so as to selectively direct the path of movement for said figures, and means responsive to the movement of said legs to effect swinging movement of said relatively movable arms.

4. A toy comprising a group of soldier figures aligned side by side to form a row, said soldiers each having relatively movable legs for supporting the row of soldiers on a supporting surface, a drum secured to one of said soldiers in forwardly extending relation thereto, a swingably mounted supporting wheel fixed to said drum in position for engagement with the supporting surface, leg moving means interconnecting said movable legs for effecting relative movement thereof in a marching manner, power operated means within said drum connected with said leg moving means for operation of the latter, a soundmaker within said drum and connected with said power operated means for operation thereby, said soundmaker including a vibratable member fixed to one side of said drum and having a free end angularly bent away from said one side, rotatable cam means in position for engagement with the free end of said vibratable member, and said rotatable cam means being connected with said power operated means for operation.

5. A toy comprising a group of soldier figures aligned side by side to form a row, said soldiers each having relatively movable arms and also having relatively movable legs for supporting the row of soldiers on a supporting surface, a drum secured to one of said soldiers in forwardly extending relation thereto, a swingably mounted supporting wheel fixed to said drum in position for engagement with the supporting surface, leg moving means interconnecting said movable legs for effecting relative movement thereof in a marching manner, power operated means within said drum connected with said leg moving means for operation of the latter, a soundmaker within said drum and connected with said power operated means for operation thereby, said soundmaker including a vibratable member fixed to one side of said drum, rotatable cam means in position for engagement with the free end of said vibratable member, said rotat able cam means being connected with said power operated means for operation so as to provide intermittent striking of said one side of said drum by said vibratable member, means for swinging said supporting wheel so as to selectively direct the path of movement for said figures, and means responsive to the movement of said legs to effect swinging movement of said relatively movable arms.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,069,181 1/37 Fisher 4699 X 2,827,735 3/58 Grimm 46-150 2,883,793 4/59 Crawford 4699 3,060,631 10/62 Collischan 46118 3,064,389 11/62 Lemelson 46192 3,110,980 11/63 Moormann 46192 3,132,864 5/64 Glass et al. 273-127 FOREIGN PATENTS 790,404 9/ 35 France.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

4. A TOY COMPRISING A GROUP OF SOLDIER FIGURES ALIGNED SIDE BY SIDE TO FORM A ROW, SAID SOLDIERS EACH HAVING RELATIVELY MOVABLE LEGS FOR SUPPORTING THE ROW OF SOLDIERS ON A SUPPORTING SURFACE, A DRUM SECURED TO ONE OF SAID SOLDIERS IN FORWARDLY EXTENDING RELATION THERETO, A SWINGABLY MOUNTED SUPPORTING WHEEL FIXED TO SAID DRUM IN POSITION FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SUPPORTING SURFACE, LEG MOVING MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID MOVABLE LEGS FOR EFFECTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT THEREOF IN A MARCHING MANNER, POWER OPERATED MEANS WITHIN SAID DRUM CONNECTED WITH SAID LEG MOVING MEANS FOR OPERATION OF THE LATTER, A SOUNDMAKER WITHIN SAID DRUM AND CONNECTED WITH SAID POWER OPERATED MEANS FOR OPERATION THEREBY, SAID SOUNDMAKER INCLUDING A VIBRATABLE MEMBER FIXED TO ONE SIDE OF SAID DRUM AND HAVING A FREE END ANGULARLY BENT AWAY FROM SAID ONE SIDE, ROTATABLE CAM MEANS IN POSITION FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FREE END OF SAID VIBRATABLE MEMBER, AND SAID ROTATABLE CAM MEANS BEING CONNECTED WITH SAID POWER OPERATED MEANS FOR OPERATION. 